Archive: MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email

New Free Tool: The Ultimate Mortgage Calculator Reveals cost of rate rises, savings from overpaying & should you ditch your fix? Small mortgage changes can massively impact your budget, both good and bad. So we've built a three-pronged, super-powered mortgage calculator to reveal them... Rate change impact. Compare the cost of your mortgage now against any rate changes, e.g. if your deal's due to end. Overpayments. If your mortgage lets you pay extra without penalties, calculate the benefit e.g. a £100,000 repayment mortgage at 5.5% with a twenty-five year term costs £615/mth, yet top it up to £700/mth and you'd repay 5 years quicker and save £21,000 in interest. Should you ditch your fix? If you're on a fixed rate and see a much cheaper deal, the calc. can tell you if you'll actually save by switching after taking penalties into account. New Tool: Ultimate Mortgage Calculator Related: Free Printed Remortgage Guide, Free Printed Mortgage Guide, Fixed v Discount, Saving v Mortgage

Cheapest Ever Broadband - £4/mth!
Gets 4mths free on Plusnet's already cheapest £6/mth deal - so over the year contract it's an avg. £4/mth
Use the code '4monthsBB' via BroadbandChoices*. Available in 50% of UK homes. Full Info: Cheap Broadband guide

Instant Discount Codes: Body Shop £5 off £10, Waitrose Del. £15 off £60, Wallis 15% off
And masses more including House of Fraser 20% off, Habitat 10%, Tesco £10 off first £50 online spend
These join a raft of other magazine and instant print vouchers & codes in the full Daily Deals List: Shopping Vouchers

Urgent! Extra £50 cashback on cheap energy until Thurs eve Cheap tariff gives EXTRA £50 cashback on top of usual £15/case of wine freebies Many homes can save £300/year comparing & switching. Until Thurs sign up to Scottish Power's cheap Online Energy Saver 9 specifically via comparison sites & you get an extra £25 each for gas & for electricity, on top of the usual extra freebies via MSE links. Is it any good? Whether this wins depends on where you live & your energy usage, so doing a comparison is crucial in case another deal saves you more than the cashback. Like most super-cheap tariffs, this has exit penalties (up to £50 before 31 March 2011), so if other prices dropped a lot it could diminish the gain from switching again. Compare, switch & get cashback: These all give the £50 on top of the amount listed for using these links: Top Pick: Energyhelpline* pays £15 cashback per switch. Dual Fuel (from Wed mid-morn): Uswitch* free case of wine, SimplySwitch* £35 in Amazon vouchers. More cashback? You may be able to get even more cashback signing up for your cheapest tariff via cashback website. FULL info in the Guide: Switch Gas & Elec Related: Boiler Cover, Grant Grabbing

£5(ish) Europe Flights inc. a few over Easter
Ends Thur Midnight! Ryanair has £5 e/w (inc. some charges) flights 2 Mar-30 Apr, to 40+ destinations
To Find them quickly: See the £5 Flights guide then how to Beat Budget Airline Fees. Related: Cheap Flights anywhere, Cheap Hotels

Urgent! Mega 75% off Tesco toys sale
Inc radio controlled buggy £15 (was £60), Mr Men toy £5 (was £20) & Transformers 10pk £10 (was £40)
This is super-popular in the MSE forum - and stocks are disappearing fast. Forum note: 75% off toys

New Top Cash ISA: 2.75% guaranteed for 18 mths
Not only is it a new top rate but it's guaranteed not to drop - and you get full access to your cash!
The First Direct e-ISA is the new top paying easy access cash ISA (min. £1) paying 2.75% AER. Better still the rate is guaranteed until 31 Aug 2011 though then it drops to a PITIFUL 0.2%. So set one up, but diarise or use the tart alert that you'll need to transfer it to a better payer then. What if rates rise? There are no transfer-out penalties so you could move this to a better payer if one came along in the meantime - it also allows transfers- in so you can shift past year deals in there. What is a cash ISA? It's simply a tax-free savings account where all UK adults can save £3,600/year (or £5,100 for over 50s) and not pay tax on the interest. For most they're the first place to save. Alternatives: You can earn more by getting a fixed rate ISA, the top payer is Aldermore (min. £3,600) at 3.05% AER for 1 year and 3.6% for two, but you lose 180 days worth of interest for withdrawing early. FULL info, alternatives & savings safety details in the Updated Guides: Cash ISAs, Transfer old ISAs Related: Top Savings, Safe Savings

50% off La Tasca & iL Bertorelli or Strada 2 mains for £10
New Restaurant Vouchers! Join 2for1s at Pizza Express, ASK & Prezzo
Also GBK 2 burgers 'n' fries for £12, Caffe Uno 50% off and loads more in the Daily Deals List: Restaurant Vouchers

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£100 Xbox Arcades or £160 Xbox Elites
Cheapest Games Consoles: That's £20 and £40 cheaper than the standard prices
Full info as well as cheapest playstation and Wii deals in the Deals Note: Cheap Games Consoles

New top all-in-one card. 0% on debt shifted AND new spending
The AA credit card: 10mths 0% on new spending, 12mths 0% balance transfers (3% fee) & rewards
Most top deals are 0% for either balance transfers or new spending. The new AA credit card* only avail. via Moneysupermarket (the link goes there) does both. While its features are beatable using two cards, this protects your credit score as you only need one. The details: Spending is 0% for 10mths plus you get AA reward points; debt shifted to it is 12mths 0% for a fee of 3% of the amount transferred. When the 0% ends the rates jump to 16.9% and 18.9% APR respectively, so ensure you've either repaid in full or shifted to a new card. Minor warning. Normally we say never, ever, ever spend on a card you've balance transferred to, as it traps the spending debt at a higher rate: the only exception's when you've identical deals on both. Here that exception almost applies, though the deal lengths aren't identical, but that's mostly balanced as it prioritises paying the shorter 0% first (see MSE Dan's nerdy blog). Top Standalone Bal Transfers: Accepted new Virgin* cardholders get 0% for 16mths (2.98% fee) 18.6% APR after, or Barclaycard* at 0% for 15mths (2.9% fee) 15.9% APR after. Top Standalone Spending 0%: New Tesco cardholders get 0% for 12mnths (then 16.9% APR), next is the AA card* and Sainsburys at 10mths 0% (then 15.9% APR). FULL info & more options in the Updated Guides: Balance Transfers, 0% Spending Related: 5% cashback card, Top Flights Rewards Cards

Travelodge £19 March-May UK 200,000 room sale
Starts 6am Sat 20 Feb. Available for March - May stays, usual cost c. £29-£59. Go early for availability.
Plus over 900,000 £29 Premier Inn rooms still left. See the Deals Note: Travelodge Sale Related: Cheap Hotels, Hotel Sales

Free Cineworld ticket (worth £6-£8) with £1.50 notepad
Buy it from WHSmiths, Rymans, Staples & more for one free Cineworld ticket or 3mth 2for1 at independents
Just grab a notepad and send it off for your free ticket. See the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out

Boost your web browser for free - faster & safer Ditch old browsers - upgrade now. Plus new versions of Firefox & Chrome. Google's just announced it's going to stop supporting the still well-used old Internet Explorer 6 web browser (a programme you view the web through). So it's a salient reminder for everyone to check and upgrade their browser. Why update? It's not just that newer browsers tend to be faster & more functional, they're also more secure. Cybercrooks try to use browsers to access your computer, but browser-makers release patches to fix any new holes. Old browsers don't get that so you're much more at risk. Free New Browsers: The latest Microsoft browser is Internet Explorer 8, yet many techies prefer Firefox 3.6 (a new updated) for add ons, Opera 10.5 for speed (good if you've less processing power) or Google Chrome which auto updates. FULL step-by-step & upgrade options in the New Deals Note: Top Web Browsers Related: Free Anti-Virus Software, Free Office Software

Free 'Dancing On Ice' votes (usually 35p). You can get 5 free votes for this Sun's (21 Feb) ITV episode via a specially set up 0800 number from TalkTalk. See the Forum Note: Free Dancing On Ice votes

More FREE CASH for Bank Account Switching - up to £100 available Nationwide's now offering £75 for switchers, joining A&L & First Direct's £100 The fight to win current account business is exploding. Nationwide's just become the third to offer free cash for joining it - widening the choice. Unlike the others you don't need to pay your salary in to qualify, though you must transfer direct debits across. Here's the rundown... Free £100, 0% overdraft & free travel insurance. Earn over £6,050 and Alliance & Leicester's* Premier account's pays £100, has a year's 0% overdraft, pays 0.5% in-credit interest & gives free European annual travel insurance. Free £100 & top customer service: Earn over £23,300 and First Direct* pays £100, though there's no interest - but it has a strong customer service reputation. New £75 bonus & cheapest way to spend abroad: Nationwide's Flexaccount debit card's the cheapest way to spend abroad, and now the account's giving £75 to new or existing customers who switch direct debits from another account (see the MSE News story). FULL info & how to earn £5 a month if you prefer long term benefits, in the Updated Guide: Best Bank account Related: Top Savings, Top Cash ISAs

2for1 Guinness Premiership rugby final tickets
Get 2 tickets for £40 all-in with special code from Travel zoo - usually they are circa £80
You can get as many tickets as you like provided you enter the code. More in the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out

£1 National Express tickets (45,000 available)
Routes include London to Manchester, Newcastle to Sheffield, Manchester to Glasgow & more
Book before 28 Feb for travel until 21 March. Daily Deals List: Cheap Train & Coach Deals

An end to retrospective energy price hikes in sight
Another triumph for the MSE '50 words' manifesto as govt announces change
Another of your 50-word policy ideas has been taken up, as the govt announced Ofgem will battle against retrospective energy price rises. See the MSE News story: Energy crackdown Related: Cheap Gas & Electricity

£2 Guinness World Records Book 2010. In stores at Asda nationwide. Unbeatable

Repossessions at 15 year high - check for help asap
If you've mortgage arrears worries there are three schemes that can help..
The economic climate means for many, fear of being unable to keep up with mortgage payments & ultimately repossession, loom large. If it impacts you the sooner you get help the better Struggling to meet your mortgage? The Govt. now has three separate schemes to either cover mortgage interest, allow you to postpone repayments or even buy your house. See the Mortgage Arrears Help guide for full info. Repossession Looming? If you’re already in danger of repossession, the Housing Duty Scheme from Community Legal Advice gives free advice at around 100 courts across England and Wales. See the Debt Problems guide. Full Guides: Mortgage Arrears Help, Debt Problems Related: Setting Off, Bank Charges Reclaiming

Half term! 1p morning bowling, free footie & tennis
Joins 50% off National Theatre tickets and NI arts guest tickets
Loads of cheap ways to entertain the kids in the Daily Deals List: Cheap Days Out

New Glee MP3 album for £5 & Haiti single 49p. The tunechecker download comparison tool lists the new No.1 Haiti single Everybody Hurts at 49p (though cheaper may mean less to charity - but just donate the difference and it gets more). Plus it lists the cheapest download or CD for the Glee album. See TuneChecker.com: Cheap MP3 Downloads

Great 'supermarket staff, tell us your reduction policies' Hunt
The hottest supermarket reductions are on fresh goods that are going out of date, but what's the best time to grab these goodies? Three years ago we first asked any MoneySavers who work, or have worked, in supermarkets to dish the dirt on stores' official reduction policies and its time to update... please let us know what times of day do you reduce prices? How big are the discounts? How are they decided? Add your ideas/read other people's: Great 'Supermarket staff, tell us your reduction policies' Hunt Past Great Hunts: View all

New Forum FAQs & rules. We've updated the Forum FAQs which help the forum run smoothly. Please have a read. Forum Guide: Rules & FAQs

MONEY MORAL DILEMMA:
Should Spencer disguise the engagement ring?
Spencer wants to propose to Heidi. He knows she's always dreamt of owning jewellery from the famous 'Cart-any's' brand. Yet that costs £7,000 while he can get a virtually identical one with the same diamond from an independent jeweller for £4,000. His friend has a 'Cart-anys' box which she's offered to lend him so he could put the cheaper ring in and his fiancee would be none the wiser - but he'd have more cash to start their lives together. Should he go through with it? Enter the Money Moral Maze: Should Spencer disguise the engagement ring? Previous MMDs: View All

Free Book Giveaway! 'Live & Work In Australia'
25 copies blagged for MoneySavers. Want one?

Great 'Free Valentine's Gifts' Hunt Result
Last week we asked MoneySavers what their ideas were for free last minute Valentine's deals, to avoid being empty handed on the big day! There were some fab suggestions, including 52 reasons why I love u, love cheques and paper roses

BOARD OF THE WEEK: Techie Stuff
Tips for computer buffs
Technology isn't for everyone, but for those who have a passion for laptops, computer software and the latest in technology, this board has loads of great tips to be state of the art! Recent discussions include web hosting, scanner for colour negatives and linking tv to laptop

Would you work or claim benefit? This week's poll
Vote and Job seeker? discussion.

GoCompare's THE most annoying ad; Halifax 2nd. 13,430 voted
GoCompare's shouty opera singer ads won the dubious accolade of 'most annoying' convincingly, taking a big 52% majority of the vote. Halifax's 'high five' radio ad came in second with 21%, with the meerkat a distant third at 6%. See the Ad nauseum poll result.

Archna's Free Game of the Week!
Very addictive! Keep your eye on the ball in Top Baskets

Become a movie star. That's all for this week, but before we go, if you've ever fancied yourself as the next Oscar winner star, why not star in your own movie? Create trailer!

We hope you save some money,

Martin & the MSE team